Time to Fall
by mercywestforever
Summary: Jackson Avery is the man on campus and could basically have every woman he wants but when he falls hopelessly for the perky April Kepner he learns that this might not apply to the only one he really wants. / AU!College Japril
1. Just the start

So I had this idea and I was really excited about it so I needed to post it! I hope you'll like it!

The title is supposed to mean 'Time to fall in love' but I thought it just sounded prettier like this :)

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned. All the rights to them and Grey's Anatomy belong to shondaland and ABC. **

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><p>"Dude, you already got a date for the party?", Jackson eyed his friend suspiciously as the guy walked up to him. As though Alex Karev had a date for the party of the year.<p>

"No, do you?", Jackson questioned as he began walking towards the library. He still needed to do some research for his term paper that was due next week.

"Nah, just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't ditch me. I need my wingman to score a hot sorority lady for the night.", Alex replied grinning smugly. Now everything made so much more sense.

"Sounds like a plan.", he answered unmotivated as he came to a halt facing his friend.

"Come on, this is going to be great. You, me, lots of alcohol and hot ladies. Sounds like a perfect night to me.", Jackson could only roll his eyes in response. Of course that would be a perfect night for Karev. He had known the guy since he started college and all Alex ever did was partying and playing football. Jackson was not sure how he even managed to pass his classes.

Football was also how they met. Alex was the wide receiver and Jackson the quarterback. That was how it had been since freshmen year. Of course they hadn't been in first row right from the start but now they were leading the Crimson successfully from win to win together. It had been inevitable for them to become friends as they were training partners from the beginning.

"Dude, where are we?", Alex exclaimed confused as he took in their surroundings.

"This is the library. Of course you wouldn't know.", he answered smiling, "Honestly, how do you pass your classes?"

"Whatever.", Alex dismissed annoyed, "Look, the dork is coming. Is he still trying to suck it up to you?"

Jackson turned around to see who Karev was referring to only to be met by the sight of his waving best friend, "Seriously you have to stop calling him that. You know that we've friends forever."

And that was the truth. Jackson couldn't remember a time when Charles Percy hadn't been his best friend. Their parents were colleagues and friends long before the two boys had been born. They had grown up having regular playdates and attended the same schools. They had the same goals; Harvard, med school, surgery.

What Alex was referring to was the fact that Charles had never been as popular as his best friend. Percy was geeky and dorky. He had only been part of the popular clique at high school because Jackson had refused to ditch him once he became part of the football team. Over time the others had grown used to him and even started to like him. You really just needed to give him a chance.

Now on college they barely hung out together apart from classes and their study sessions. Jackson's friends came mainly from his football background and Charles had found people who truly liked him for who he was but Jackson knew that he could always count on him. He was still the guy he trusted with the stuff that concerned his feelings.

"Hey, man.", Charles greeted them, casually clapping Jackson on the back as he approached them, "Karev."

Despite the fact that the two men were Jackson's best friends they couldn't stand each other. Alex thought that Charles was dorky and a loser and Charles thought that Alex was a huge jerk and a douche.

"Percy.", Karev greeted the other man with a curt nod, "Have fun studying. I'll see you later at the party." With that he turned to leave and made sure to get away from the library as fast as possible.

Jackson could only shake his head as he turned to face his other friend, "He was talking about this party tonight..."

"Oh I know.", Charles interrupted him grinning as he started towards the entry of the library, "It's the party of the year. I'm going myself."

"You are?", Jackson asked surprised.

"Of course. ", he stopped suddenly clapping him on the shoulder, "I've been Jackson Avery's best friend long enough to know that you better not miss a good party."

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><p>There was a reason why people called this the party of the year. The music was blasting through the whole house, the kitchen was full with beer, liquor and spiked punch, there was a table with all kinds of snacks in the living room and everybody was having a good time.<p>

Jackson was sure that Alex was going to achieve his goal today. Everyone was in a flirty mood and he had already seen at least five couples making out in the ten minutes he had been there. Right now he was looking for Karev who had texted him that he was playing beer pong somewhere. His study session had taken longer than expected and he hadn't really been in the mood for the party anymore but Charles' enthusiasm had been infecting so he showered, changed his clothes and came here and he hadn't regretted it yet.

He greeted a few people he knew as he passed them while he continued his search for the mysterious beer pong game. He knew that it would be useless to text Karev by now given the number of misspellings that were in his last reply 20 minutes ago.

He stopped looking for Alex though when he saw Charles approaching him. He had obviously had a few drinks already as he almost shouted at him, "Tonight's the night."

"The night for what?", he asked confused as he accepted the beer Charles was offering him.

"I'm gonna tell her. Reed, I'm going to tell her how I feel about her.", he was slurring slightly as he told him that.

Reed Adamson. She was the woman Charles had a hopeless crush since they started college. Reed was part of the same group of friends as Charles and studying literature or something. Jackson had met the snarky pixie head only briefly two or three times but even so he knew enough about her. Ever since Charles had met her he couldn't stop talking about her and from time to time it got really annoying.

It would probably be a good thing if he finally told her about his feelings.

"Do it.", he encouraged his friend.

"You're right. I'll do it. I have to find her. See you.", Charles clinked his bottle against Jackson's before disappearing into the crowd.

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><p>He had finally found Karev and the beer pong game when he was stopped in the doorway by finger pointed to his chest. He looked confused down on the perfectly manicured nail then back up only to be met by Izzie Stevens' deep brown eyes and a slurry smile.<p>

"Jaaaaacksoooooon, you came.", she slurred trailing her finger down his chest, "I'm soooo, so happy that you did."

"Yeah, me too.", he coughed awkwardly. Izzie was drunk had she had lost her t-shirt already. And she was hitting on him.

Don't get him wrong, Izzie was a nice girl and he liked her and she was really, really hot but she just wasn't his type. It was hard to describe and he was sure that Izzie wouldn't understand it in the state she was in.

Luckily Alex noticed his presence in that moment and called out to him, "Avery! There you finally are! Come over! I need my partner to show those losers who rules this place!"

He chuckled before pushing himself away from Izzie and beginning to walk towards him, "Sorry, but I have to go."

"No problem, I'll be your lucky charm!"

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><p>He took a deep breath as he stepped outside into the garden. He still wasn't sure how exactly he had gotten rid of Izzie but he was happy that he finally did. She had clung to his side the whole evening even when he had stopped playing beer pong and casually chatted with some of his friends. It had gotten especially ridiculous and uncomfortable when she started to grind against his side. So yeah, he was quite happy to be finally free.<p>

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard some rustling beside him in the dark. There was definitely someone.

You see, Jackson was a social person. Talking to other people and having an easy conversation came easily to him. So it was something normal for him when he started a conversation, "Also taking a breather?", he asked friendly wearing his trademark smile.

"Yeah, it's kind of loud in there.", a soft voice responded and then she stepped into the dim light that came from inside the house and illuminated a little spot creating a soft glow.

His intention of taking some breaths of fresh air was instantaneously forgotten as she literally took his breath away.

She was beautiful, even more then some. Words couldn't describe it. Her soft auburn curls were failing over her bare shoulders and she was wearing a small smile as she took a few more steps towards him. Even in the dim light he could see the freckles that were splattered over her face and her eyes were sparkling.

He needed a few moments to compose himself before he regained the ability to speak, "Yeah… yeah, it is. I'm Jackson…"

"Avery. I know.", she cut him off smiling softly and were that actually butterflies in his stomach?

"How?", he asked dumbly almost regretting it before he heard how she laughed lightly before responding, "You're the Jackson Avery, the quarterback, the most popular guy on the campus. Everyone knows who you are.", she explained as he simply starred at her.

She timidly ducked her head when he didn't' say anything else and… was she blushing?

"Yeah, right.", he cleared his throat awkwardly before his eyes fell to her lips as she smiled up at him. They were pink and looked a bit glossy and so, so soft and he really wanted to kiss her.

They stood there a few moments in complete silence, the only sounds coming from the party that was still going on inside the house, before he decided to just do it.

He closed the distance between them by taking a few more steps towards her. He could see that she was nervous as she watched his every move subconsciously biting down her lip. He was already leaning down when the shrill ringing of her phone suddenly interrupted them.

"Crap.", she mumbled as she fished her phone out of her pocket and he took a step back as he watched how she picked up.

"Yes? ...No, I'm still at the party. …He did what? No way! … Yes, I'm coming. …No, wait for me, I swear I'm almost there. …Okay, see you.", she hung up frowning slightly

"Everything alright?", he questioned slightly concerned as she just stared at the screen. Her eyes snapped up at his voice and she nodded almost frantically, "Yes, it's just my friend. She's having guy problems. I should really go."

"Oh … alright.", he mumbled as she already made her door towards the door. And then he realized something, "Hey,", he called out, "I still don't know your name!"

She turned her head around, smiling at him over her shoulder causing the butterflies in his stomach to go crazy and then simply said, "Have a good night Jackson."

He could only stand there as she disappeared into the crowd. His heart was beating erratically and he couldn't help grinning like an idiot.

He was already falling for this woman and he had no idea who she was.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!<strong>


	2. Aftermaths of party nights

Thank you so much everyone who likes and reads this story. I hope this chapter is not going to let you down and that you like it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned. All the rights to them and Grey's Anatomy belong to shondaland and ABC. **

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><p>"Ohhhh, why did I do that?", Charles groaned before letting his head rest on his palm. Jackson could only chuckle as he sat the glass of water and the Advil down on the table in front of him in the common room. They were the only ones there because it was early Saturday morning after the party of the year and everybody was still pretty much asleep. They were only here because Charles' roommate was still asleep and they didn't want to disturb him and Jackson needed to be at training soon anyway.<p>

Honestly, he wasn't sure how many players could be expected this morning; he would be surprised if Karev came. When Jackson had left the party, not long after his mysterious lady, Karev was still at it, flirting with all kinds of girls and downing shot after shot.

He wasn't in the mood to party anymore after the redhead had left rather abruptly, so he had decided to call it a night and head back to his dorm.

Soon after he had showered this morning Charles had called in desperate need to talk. Apparently his declaration hadn't gone as planned.

"How could I be so stupid?", Charles asked after taking a sip of his water and swallowing the pill. That statement in combination with Charles' pained expression was what made Jackson crack up in the end.

Charles flinched at the shrill sound while simultaneously shooting his friend a death glance, "This is not funny.", he said sternly.

"Oh yes, it is.", Jackson managed to say between laughs.

"Oh yeah?!", Charles spat out sarcastically, "And what did you accomplish last night? I don't think I saw you leaving with a girl."

Jackson instantaneously calmed down at that. For a moment he considered telling Charles about his mysterious lady, he knew he could trust him with that but it somehow felt wrong as though the memory would lose the special feeling when he told someone about it, as if it got tainted if he shared it with someone even if that someone was his best friend who he had known his whole life.

"No.", he replied calmly before stirring the topic back to the initial problem, "So what did she exactly say?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing'? She must have said something.", he questioned confused.

Charles shook his head defeated before admitting, "She left. I told her that I had a crush on her since I first met her, that I'm in love with her and she just left."

"Well, she didn't reject you. It could have gone worse.", Jackson said trying to stay positive.

"Worse?", Charles exclaimed incredulously, "You should have seen her expression man. She was terrified.", he let out a loud, long sigh while leaning back against the cushions, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Dude, you've had a crush on her for what, three years now. It was time to finally man up and tell her how you feel."

"We've been friends and now I ruined that. I've been so stupid. That's my entire fault…," Charles stopped and it was clear that he was thinking about something before he suddenly snapped, "That's wrong! It's your fault!"

"How is that my fault?!", Jackson exclaimed confused.

"You should have stopped me. As my best friend that's your duty.", Charles told him clearly satisfied with his explanation.

"I was only encouraging you… as your best friend.", Jackson added with special emphasis but the other man simply continued to send him a steely look.

"Okay..,", he eventually relented, "There's no point in arguing whose fault it was. Instead we should focus on fixing the problem. You should talk to her."

Charles sighed once again before he said, "I've already tried that. She won't answer my calls and she isn't texting me back."

"Maybe she's still asleep.", Jackson tried only to be met with a look that clearly said 'Are you kidding me?', "Maybe you should give her some time…", the lack of a response spoke volumes, "Okay, try talking to a friend of hers, someone that could put in a good word for you."

Charles straightened up at that suggestion, a fact that made Jackson let out a breath of relief.

"I could try texting April.", he offered.

"April?", Jackson questioned. She was probably part of Charles' friends and he could vaguely remember him bringing up the name one or two times but he had no idea who she actually was.

"Yeah, she's Reed's best friend. They're roommates and practically inseparable. If Reed's going to listen to anyone then it's her.", Charles explained before taking another gulp of water.

"And does that April like you?"

"I think so.", Charles replied slightly irritated furrowing his eyebrows, "I mean we've been friends since we started college."

"That's good. Try talking to her maybe she'll help you with Reed.", Jackson told him while he looked down on his watch, "Look, I gotta go. Stick to that plan and don't do anything stupid."

"Oh, I won't.", Charles said as Jackson made his way over to the door, "I'll lock myself up in my room for the rest of the weekend finishing my term paper."

"Sounds like a plan."

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><p>To say that Jackson was surprised when Alex Karev entered the locker room that morning was an understatement. He definitely hadn't expected that his friend would show up after last night. That fact was also displayed on his face and the reason why Alex asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?", clearly annoyed.<p>

"I'm just surprised that you're here. I mean you're were still going at it when I left.", Jackson explained turning back to his chubby and taking out his deodorant.

"Yeah, so …?", Alex asked irritated. Although he came to the training that early in the morning it was obvious that he wasn't in the best mood. He was probably having a nasty hangover, "Besides, you left pretty earlier. What was that even about?"

"I wasn't in the mood to party.", Jackson told his friend as he slipped his shirt over his head.

"In the mood? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Let's just say that Izzie Stevens was pretty exhausting.", he said avoiding the true reason. It wasn't a lie either.

"Dude, she had the hots for you. You could've easily screwed her.", Jackson slightly flinched at Alex's crass word choice. Even after three years of knowing him he still wasn't used to it.

"She isn't my type.", he told the other man. What he didn't tell him was the fact that his type was petite redheads with freckles and sparkling eyes since yesterday evening.

"Your bad. That way she ended up in my bed.", Alex told him smugly. Jackson wasn't sure if he was disgusted or surprised by that new information.

"It was really good by the way. She's a freak in the sheets.", Karev wore a smug smirk while telling him that making him shudder.

"I never wanted to know that.", he mumbled under his breath. He definitely needed to change the topic but the only thing he could think of was his mysterious lady and how he had no idea who she was. While he had no desire to discuss their meeting with Karev he was aware of the fact that the guy knew pretty much everyone on campus and was therefore his best shot at finding out who she was.

"Do you happen to know any redheads?", he asked cautiously not facing his friend.

"Why? Did you hopelessly fall in love with one at the party?", Alex questioned mockingly. Jackson chose to ignore him afraid that he would admit that exactly that happened if he opened his mouth.

"Whatever.", Alex commented at the lack of response but answered anyway, "The only redhead I know is Professor Montgomery-Shepherd and it better not be her because I understand you, she's hot and all, but she's got a husband and trust me that can only end ugly."

"No, it's not her!", Jackson stated irritated.

"Well maybe you could give more information about that girl then I could help you.", Alex retorted just as annoyed. Luckily he was prevented from asking any further when their coach appeared in their locker room starting to rant about the fact that at least a handful of players were missing.

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><p>He knocked three times on the door before Charles roommate George O'Malley opened it sleepy, "Charles, your boyfriend came to pick you up for class.", the guy called out into the room before walking back to his bed.<p>

Charles was rooming with George since they started college. George was studying web design or something like that and was also part of Charles' group of friends. When he wasn't still half-asleep like right now he was a nice guy. He had provided them with snacks more than once when they pulled an all-nighter and he was just as geeky as Charles.

"Go back to bed.", Percy told his roommate as he grabbed his backpack and made his way over to Jackson.

"Already on my way.", George replied as he feel face first onto his bed.

Jackson chuckled slightly as Charles only shook his head before closing the door behind them, "Let's go."

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><p>"So, you talked to April?", Jackson asked as they walked over the campus towards their lecture.<p>

"Yeah… she said she'll do what she can.", his best friend answered defeated.

"That's not bad.", the pretty boy told him trying to sound as positive as possible.

"Not bad?! She also said that Reed was furious and that I should give her some time to calm down. Apparently she's confused and needs time to 'organize her feelings'.", Charles even used air quotes to put a special emphasis on the last part.

"And after she did that she'll realize that she wants you just as much as you want her.", Jackson encouraged his friend who didn't look too convinced.

"She calls me Charlie, Jackson. Nobody who is attracted to someone calls them 'Charlie'."

"So, my mom calls you Charlie.", Jackson retorted before thinking about what he was saying. It didn't take him long though to realize what the result of that logic would be, "Forget what I just said.", he told him slightly shaking his head in disgust.

"That would be better for everyone, Jackie."

They continued to walk in silence until Charles came to an abrupt halt. Jackson took a few more steps before he registered that his friend had stopped. Confused he turned around while he asked his friend, "What's wrong?"

"She's there.", he whispered as though Reed could hear him. Jackson turned back around furrowing his eyebrows in concentration as he scanned the campus.

"I don't see her."

"She's right over there talking to April.", Charles said as he tilted his head into the direction.

Jackson's eyes continued to flit over the campus until they landed on the one person he didn't expect to see. His sharp intake went unnoticed by his best friend who was too occupied with staring at Reed.

She was even more beautiful in the daylight, his mysterious lady. Her hair seemed to shine in the sunlight and even though there was a distance between them he could see her wonderful eyes and how soft her skin looked.

A few more moments passed before he noticed that she was talking to someone. He was barely able to take his eyes off her to figure out with who she was having a conversation but he when he did he was surprised that it was none other than Reed Adamson. It took him another minute to put one and one together but as he did so he realized that maybe he should have asked Charles instead of Karev.

His mysterious lady was April.

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><p><strong>So Jackson finally knows who she is. Next time there's going to be some interaction between them. Also I've got some exciting plans for the other characters as well. George was already introduced in this chapter and there are more to come. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! <strong>


	3. So we meet again

I'm so sorry for the long wait, I really am! I hope you'll forgive me and enjoy this chapter! As I promised there is going to be some Japril interaction!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned. All the rights to them and Grey's Anatomy belong to shondaland and ABC. **

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><p>"Go and talk to her!", Jackson told his friend enthusiastically turning to face him.<p>

Charles blinked a few times his eyes still trained on the two women, "Really? Didn't you say that I should wait a bit? Give her some time?"

"Well, yeah…", he coughed once trying to think of something to say to convince him, " But what do I know? My last serious girlfriend has been Lexie and that has in high school."

Jackson really thought that Charles should talk to Reed, you know clear the air. If he would get introduced to April during that … well let's just say that it wouldn't hurt anybody.

"I'm not sure…", Charles mumbled beside him. Jackson's eyes followed Charles' and his breath caught in his throat once again as they were met by her sight. It might sound cheesy but he had never seen a woman as beautiful as her. In that moment she laughed about something Reed just said and it was as though the whole world around her lit up.

He had never felt like this and he would probably be embarrassed by himself if he spoke his thoughts out loud but he couldn't help himself.

"Just be casual. Say hello or something. Besides I'll be with you, I'll stop you from doing something stupid."

"Yeah because you stopped me from declaring my love to her.", Charles shot back accusingly.

Jackson only shrugged in response; honestly he would act the same way again. He still thought that his best friend did the right thing by finally admitting his feelings. His crush had gotten to a point where it began to become pathetic.

"Look, you said that she needed to organize her feelings but how is she going to that when the last memory she has of you is the moment you declared your feelings to her half drunk at some party.", Jackson finished with a smile. His explanation made sense, at least kind of. He just hoped that it would be convincing enough so that Charles would go over to talk with the girls.

His friend took a deep breath clearly pondering before he said, "Okay, let's go."

"Great.", Jackson exclaimed happily before he realized that he needed to tone it down a bit. But he was truly happy and just a little bit selfish.

As they began to walk towards the two ladies he tried his best to compose himself. He definitely didn't want to appear as a nervous loser the first time they met again. After all he didn't want to leave a bad second first impression.

They were almost there when April looked up. She saw Charles first as she got an uneasy expression on her face but she was still wearing a small smile. Charles had clearly been right when he had said that April liked him. Jackson briefly wondered how close the two were but he lost that train of thought when April's gaze wandered to him and her eyes connected with his.

He could pinpoint the exact moment she registered who exactly was walking towards her. If he didn't knew it any better he would describe the expression that crossed her beautiful features as pure horror. But that couldn't be right? She should be just as happy as he was to see him again.

"Hey ladies.", Charles greeted them in what he would probably describe as a smooth way. Jackson's eyes stayed fixated on April who was ducking under his gaze but in the corner of his eye he could see how Reed rolled her eyes. He decided to relieve the tension a bit by putting the focus on something else like himself.

"By the way I'm Jackson …", he started only to be cut off once again.

"Avery. I know.", she said smiling softly at him and he was sure that she was giving him a hint by repeating what she said that evening. She remembered it just like he did and he couldn't help but smile.

"April we have to go.", Reed interrupted them tugging impatiently on the redhead's sleeve.

"Reed.", she hissed in return.

"Okay!", Reed exclaimed before storming off rather dramatically.

The three of them watched as she walked off until she stopped obviously waiting for her best friend to follow her.

"I'm really sorry. You know how dramatic she gets.", April apologized directing the statement at Charles who looked really defeated.

"I know…", he trailed off looking into the direction of Reed before he continued, "It's my fault…", before he could go any further April cut him off.

"It's really not. She's … she's just confused and that pisses her really off. Give her some time.", she told him sweetly putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jackson watched the whole exchange silently. They seemed to be really close but more in a friendly way. It warmed his heart to see how compassionate she was.

"Okay.", Charles mumbled his head hung low.

"I'll see you in a bit.", April told him sweetly before she walked over to her friend. As soon as she had left, Charles let out a defeated groan turning away from the two girls. But Jackson kept his eyes focused on April who hurried towards Reed. She seemed to be apologizing to her as the later shuffled her feet against the pavement clearly annoyed.

It took the pretty boy a few more moments until his mind registered the last part of April's parting statement, "What did she mean by 'in a bit'?".

"That we'll meet again in about 10 minutes.", Charles mumbled absently.

"Why?", Jackson asked getting even more confused.

"Dude, seriously?", Charles questioned slowly getting annoyed but all Jackson could offer in response was a helpless shrug because he had really no idea what his best friend meant, "Have you been blind in the last three years? April is studying medicine with us."

Charles finished his explanation with another frustrated groan before walking towards the lecture hall leaving a dumbfounded Jackson.

Charles couldn't be right! He would've have noticed if the most beautiful woman was in his class. There was no way that Charles told the truth.

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><p>Of course Charles told the truth. Jackson had spent the last 20 minutes of his lecture watching April as she sat at the front of the class.<p>

Sure, there were a lot of students who studied pre-med at Harvard and he didn't know all of the names of the others but he never would have thought that he would overlook someone as wonderful as April.

He literally couldn't take his eyes of her and he was aware of the fact that it became borderline creepy. Luckily Charles was caught in his thoughts, probably of Reed, and if he snapped out of his own world he would actually try to concentrate on whatever Professor Montgomery-Shepherd was telling them.

Jackson knew that he should try to listen too but the beautiful woman in the front was far more interesting than anything their professor was saying. April seemed to be able to concentrate although he did catch her eyes wandering towards him every now and then. Even with the rows of students between them he could see how she blushed every time their gazes would meet and he would smile at her.

Each and every time she would turn back to the front all flustered and cute; she was so sweet.

But there were other things he noticed about her besides that now that he had the time to study her carefully.

He soon realized that it was a tick of hers to bite her lip the way she did on the night of the party. Also he saw how she furiously scribbled down in a little red notebook and that she tugged her curls behind her ears even though they hadn't even fallen out yet.

April was sitting next to and sometimes talking to a guy he knew because he was the only one out of the pre-med juniors that was also in the football team besides Jackson.

Bradley Parker was cornerback of the Crimson and despite the fact that they obviously shared some interests he and Brad never came past a state of acquaintances but seeing how Brad leaned over to whisper something into April's ear Jackson thought it was time to change that.

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><p>They were running rounds for warming up that afternoon when Jackson decided to talk to Brad. He casually ran up to him falling into step beside him. The other guy was clearly confused by this unexpected appearance as he glanced over to him.<p>

"Hey.", Jackson greeted him friendly. Brad only nodded in response apparently not in the mood to make small talk.

That was why Jackson decided to come straight to the point, "So, you're friends with April?"

"April Kepner?", the cornerback asked him eyeing him suspiciously.

Jackson nodded trying to hide the fact that he hadn't known her last name before.

"I would say so. I mean we're project partners.", Brad told him still confused by the whole situation.

"And is there going anything on between the two of you?"

"Why? Is there between the two of you?", Brad asked in return looking pointedly at him.

'If everything goes as planned...', Jackson thought to himself but shook his head instead, "No, I was just wondering. You two seemed pretty cozy to during class today."

"Well, there is nothing going on between us and I should know if there was."

"Okay...", Jackson trailed off after he got the information he wanted and let himself fall back a few steps. He and Brad were definitely not becoming friends anytime soon, in fact he was pretty sure that Brad had something against him.

As he passed the cheerleaders he caught sight of Izzie Stevens who sent him a wink irritating him so much that he didn't see Alex until he bumped into him.

"Dude, look where you're going.", his friend told him grumpily before they continued to jog side by side in silence.

As they came by the cheerleaders once again Alex suddenly spoke up, "I'm going to ask her out."

The statement was so unexpected that it took him a few moments to realize what he actually meant, "Izzie?!"

"Yes, Izzie.", and although he sounded somewhat annoyed Jackson saw how Alex smiled slightly.

"I thought it was a one-night stand. No feelings involved."

"Tell me about it."

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><p>When Charles had first texted him about hanging out with his friends Jackson had been rather reluctant because after all he had just spent over two hours ruining across a field but then his best friend had told him that he needed him there because Reed, and for Jackson more importantly April, would be there as well.<p>

He had seen the chance and decided to take it but until now he had spent about an hour listing to George and Charles as they had an animated discussion about some comic character, at least Jackson thought that it was a character out of a comic.

He was about to excuse himself and go to bed when they finally walked in. Charles' whole demeanor changed instantaneously as the two women scanned the room.

There were some more people there, most of whom he didn't know, and Reed looked pretty annoyed and promptly stalked off to a group of people he didn't recognize. Out of the corner of his eye Jackson could see how Charles slumped down a bit but his eyes stayed trained on April who shot him a tentative smile because she followed her friend causing the butterflies in his stomach to go crazy.

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><p>It took another 30 minutes until he had finally the chance to talk with April alone. She was standing over at the jukebox, which was the highlight of the common room. He made his way casually over to her, a drink in his hand and an easy smile on his lips. He just hoped that it was easy enough to hide his nervousness.<p>

"Hi.", he greeted her friendly as she shuffled through the song choices.

"Hi.", she greeted him back just as friendly briefly looking up before returning to choosing song.

He knew that he should probably make small talk but the following question was burning on his mind since Friday night, "So when are you going to go out with me?"

She didn't even look up when she answered him, "How about never."

He was taken back by both, the response and her calm voice, but he wasn't going to let her turn him down so easily, "Why not?"

"Look Jackson, ...", she began, turning to face him, "...I know guys like you."

"Guys like me?", he questioned slightly amused.

"Yes, guys like you. You're good-looking and charming..."

"You think I'm good-looking and charming?", Jackson interrupted her and although she ignored his comment and continued, he could detect a faint blush covering her cheeks.

"And you're cocky and flirty. Some girls might find that attractive and are okay with the fact that you dump them after one night but I'm not like that."

"It seems like you think that you know exactly what kind of a person I am."

"Because I do know.", she told him confidently and while he was still amused he was starting to get slightly frustrated.

"But I'm not like that."

"Really?", he only nodded in response just as confident as her.

"So when was your last serious relationship?" , for a moment he considered lying to her but he was sure that she already knew the answer from being friends with Charles. Besides, he wanted to be honest with her, "In high school."

"And I guess you haven't been abstinent since then."

"Well no … but...", he really didn't like the direction this conversation was going.

"No buts. It's really none of my business but I'm not going to become a number on your list.", she told him before she finally pressed a number.

She began to walk back towards her friends leaving a surprised Jackson behind. She smiled at him over her shoulder once again as she told him, "Have a good night Jackson."

The first notes of the song began to play as Jackson watched April walking off. She might have an opinion of him already but he was determined to change it.

He wasn't giving up that easily.

* * *

><p><strong>So I hope it was worth the wait! Jackson is going to have to work a bit :) After watching 9x17 I simply had to introduce Brad into this Story and once again, there are more characters to follow.<strong>

**Thanks for reading and it would be awesome if you could leave a review!**

**(P.S.: I'm a sucker for little details which is why I brought back those two lies from their first meeting :) )**


	4. Partners in crime

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever! I could make up dozens of excuses but in the end I didn't update and I know how horrible that can be. But I've got the next five chapters or so planned out so hopefully I'll be update a lot sooner this time around.

There's a lot of bromance in this one so enjoy that! Thanks for reading!

I'm also sorry for all mistakes, I really wanted to get this up as soon as possible!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned. All the rights to them and Grey's Anatomy belong to shondaland and ABC. **

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><p>Jackson sat on his bed while Charles was seated at his chair at his desk as they studied in his room. The pretty boy was fortunate enough to have a room all to himself since the guy who used to be his roommate dropped out of college last summer.<p>

He was going through the notes he took today during their lecture comparing them to what stood in his textbook.

He knew that Charles was starring at him, he could practically feel his gaze burning into his skin.

"What?" he asked without looking up. He heard how his friend readjusted himself on his chair leaning forward a bit.

"What is going on between you and April?" Charles asked tentatively. Jackson's eyes grew wide as he heard the question. He had always thought that his best friend had been too occupied with everything that was going on with Reed to notice his blatant staring but apparently even a heartbroken Charles wasn't that oblivious.

"I don't know what you mean," Jackson mumbled although he was aware that it was to no use. If it were anybody else it may have worked since Jackson was pretty good at shielding the truth from others but this was Charles who had seen him in every state of his life, Charles who knew him better than anyone else Charles who could tell when he was just thinking about lying, so Jackson decided to tell the truth, "Okay, so there's kinda going on something between April and I."

"You don't say!", Charles mocked his friend causing Jackson to roll his eyes.

"Do you want to hear the story or not?", Jackson asked his friend irritated.

"Yes, sorry, go on please," Charles said before he straightened himself obviously really interested in the story.

"So, remember that party?", Jackson started as he put his notes and his textbook aside.

"You mean the one where I screwed up my entire friendship with Reed thanks to your incapability?", Charles asked sarcastically.

"When are you going to forgive me for that?", Jackson questioned although he still thought that a) Charles' declaration wasn't a fault and b) it was definitely not his fault but he knew his best friend which is why he was aware of the fact that Charles could be pretty vengeful if he wanted to.

"Not until Reed talks with me again," Charles replied without hesitating.

"Anyway, back at that party a drunken Izzie kinda clung to my side the whole time."

"Cheerleader Izzie?"

"Cheerleader Izzie who went home with Karev after I ditched her," Jackson added earning a disgusted scowl from his friend, "As I said I was able to get rid of her and then I went outside to take a breather... And there I met her," Jackson continued as a dreamy expression made its way on his face.

"You met April?", Charles asked confused clearly not keeping up with his story.

"Of course April! Who else, idiot?", Jackson shot back furrowing his brows, "So we talked and man,..." he let out a dreamy sigh at that remembering how he first saw her, "She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She literally took my breath away."

"Dude, you've got it bad," Jackson snapped out of his haze at his friend's comment, "What happened?"

"Well, I was about to kiss her when she got a call from..." he trailed off realization dawning on him, "Reed! She had to go when Reed called her because she was totally freaked out after your declaration so you're the reason I couldn't kiss her that night."

Charles looked at him wide-eyed for a moment before he relented, "Fine, I guess we're even then."

"Great," Jackson said a tad sarcastic but he was actually quite happy that that was finally out of the way, "Anyway, I had no idea who that woman was until we met her on campus a few days ago, remember?"

His best friend only nodded and Jackson waited a moment for the 'So that's why you talked me into talking to Reed' but luckily it never came, "So I found out who she is and all should be perfect, right?"

Charles nodded again now genuinely curious about the whole story, "Except for the fact that she told me that she doesn't go out with guys like me when we hung out in that common room."

"Guys like you? What's that supposed to mean?", the other men asked confused.

"That's exactly what I said!", Jackson exclaimed relieved that his friend couldn't make anything of that either, "But apparently she means jocks that aren't exactly chaste."

"Ouch," Charles commented making a face, "Sorry dude. Seems like it just wasn't meant to be."

Now it was Jackson's turn to be confused, "I know that makes things difficult but I'm not giving up just because of that. She's something special."

"That she is indeed," Charles agreed before he told Jackson that, "April's pretty determined, some might even say stubborn. When she sets her mind on something she stays with that and well... she decided not to date you. I'm sorry man, you're my best friend but trust me on that one. I know her better than you do."

"Well, seems like that's going to change," Jackson stated his over-confident side showing to which Charles only responded with an unbelieving look. The quarterback shifted his position, he himself starting to doubt whether he would be able to change April's opinion of him and he suddenly noticed something; Charles did know April better than he did and Jackson would be a fool if he didn't use that, "So, yeah, you do know her quite good, right? Mind helping your best friend out by sharing some of this information?"

His friend just looked at him for a few moments clearly pondering whether he should do it as Jackson became more fidgety by each passing second, "Okay, but only because I've never seen you acting like this about a girl you barely know."

"Great!", Jackson exclaimed maybe a bit too enthusiastic causing him to repeat it in a low, manly rumble, "I mean, great."

Charles simply shook his head obviously amused by the whole situation, "Alright, where do I start?... Okay; April's from a small town a bit outside from Boston. Her parents own one of those farms that's kind of an entertainment park for those city people who take their kids there to show them what animals look like in real life."

Jackson nodded as he took the information in. He knew those farms, his mother had taken him to one as well when he was younger.

"April's got two older half-brothers who are both surgeons which is probably why she wants to become a surgeon too since they kinda have been her heroes growing up. She's naturally a ginger but she dyed her hair brown in high school because she used to get teased but dyed it back in freshman year after Reed convinced her to do so... she's quite smart and I'm pretty sure that she's one of the best students in our year."

Somehow none of this surprised Jackson instead this new information perfectly fit into the picture he had of her although the fact that she had two older brothers was pretty scary, "And how about a boyfriend?", he tried to ask casually but failed miserably.

"April isn't the kind of girl that dates or even flirts a lot. She had one boyfriend during freshman year but that ended rather badly. She pretty much stayed away from men ever since."

Jackson nodded thinking that everything made much more sense now. She got her heartbroken and because he seemed to be a heartthrob she chose to stay away from him now. He didn't ask for more information since Charles told him already pretty personal things about April without her knowledge, "Listen, I know that she thinks that I'm just some player but I'm not. I'm genuinely interested in her. I'm serious about this but I can't tell her that because she won't listen to me. Can you please?"

"You want me to convince April to give you a chance?", Charles asked incredulous.

"You said it yourself. You two are friends which means that chances are high that she will listen to you. Please," he practically begged.

"Okay... but only because it's you."

* * *

><p>Jackson was looking for a table in the cafeteria when he stumbled upon a bummed Alex who was sitting all by himself. He slipped into the chair opposite of his friend setting his tray down while he watched how the other man stirred in his food instead of devouring it like usual.<p>

"What's going on with you?", he asked before he took a spoonful of his soup.

"She turned me down," Alex stated dejectedly not even bothering to look up from his food.

"Who?", Jackson questioned oblivious for a moment until he followed Alex's gaze over to the table where the cheerleaders were seated, "Izzie?"

"Yeah, apparently I'm not good enough to take her out."

See, here's the thing: Jackson never had anything against Izzie Stevens even after her drunken clinginess. She was a pleasant person to have around and he never had any problems with her but when she thought that she was something better than his friend... well, let's just say they had a problem now.

He was about to tell Alex to get over it, that he deserved something better when he took Alex's hunched over form again. This was really bothering him, he apparently really cared for that girl. So Jackson stood up and walked over to the table full of laughing cheerleaders.

Izzie was the first one to notice him, "Hey Jackson. Wanna sit with us?", she asked friendly.

"Actually no," he shot down the offer politely, "Look, I'm only here because Alex is really bummed that you don't want to go out with him."

The other girls on the table went quiet as they followed the conversation in front of them attentively.

"Jackson," Izzie sighed, "You know Alex. He's a douche. Why would I go out with him?"

The pretty boy held back a frustrated groan because that response was exactly what he expected, "The thing is that Alex always seems like bad guy but I you look past the outer shell you'll see that he's actually a really great guy."

Izzie only raised her eyebrows as she eyed him unconvinced.

"Okay, the exterior may be pretty thick but it's worth it, trust me," he added and before she could say anything else Jackson made his way back over to his table.

"What did you do?", Alex exclaimed agitated as soon as his friend sat back down on his chair. Jackson was about to defend himself when Alex's eyes suddenly snapped to someone standing behind him.

"Pick me up Friday at eight. My favorite flowers are roses and I prefer Italian food," Izzie's voice rang from behind him. He watched how Alex simply nodded too dumbfounded to say anything before he looked after her as she returned to her table.

After she was out of earshot he shot up in his seat rounding the table and clapping his friend on his back, "I have no idea what you said or did but I owe you."

* * *

><p>"Hey, what's up?", Charles asked casually as he approached April who was going through one of the shelves in the library.<p>

"If you're going to ask me again whether Reed is talking to you again I'm going to tell you the same thing as before: she still needs time to organize her feelings," the redhead replied automatically as she pulled out one of the books skimming the text that was written on the back.

"That's not what I was going to ask but thanks for that information anyway," he replied only half-sarcastic.

"Oh," April let out surprised while she looked out from the book, "Sorry."

"It's okay. It's not like I've been talking about anything else lately," he admitted slightly amused by April's guilt, "I've been kind of self-centered these past days which is also why I haven't noticed until recently that there's something going between you and my best friend."

"There is nothing going on between us!", she exclaimed a little too loudly, "Did he say that?!"

He laughed at her state and at how she blushed ever so slightly, "No, but I'm also not blind."

"What do you mean?", she seemed genuinely confused as she asked that.

"I've seen the two of you together," Charles explained and then added, "And I've seen the way he looks at you. I've known this guy since I don't know when and I've never seen him so smitten."

"Well that's too bad because there's nothing going on between us nor will there in the future," she said rather cold as she got back to looking through the book trying and succeeding to hide her expression.

"And that's a shame," Charles interjected, "I know that you have this fixed idea about what kind of a person Jackson is but I promise you that he's different."

"So you're trying to tell me that Jackson isn't a jock that sleeps around?", April asks him obviously not convinced by his words.

"No, he's not. Sure, he's not exactly virginal but he doesn't sleep around either. He cares about people and he cares about you. A lot."

At that April stopped in her tracks and turned to face her friend, "He doesn't even know me."

Charles nodded in agreement before he continued, "I know that but that doesn't seem to faze him."

"Charles, are you trying to set me up with Jackson?", April questioned him incredulous after a few moments of pondering.

"Look, I'm not telling you to jump into bed with him. I'm just saying that he deserves that you give him a chance. It's going to be worth it, I promise," and with that he left her alone with her thoughts.

* * *

><p>"I talked to you but I'm not promising anything," Charles told his best friend as they walked towards their lecture before he suddenly stooped, "Scratch that, I'm a freaking genius."<p>

Jackson looked up confused only to be met by the sight of April walking towards them.

"You owe me big time," his best friend whispered to him as he clapped him on the back and before he left, "See you in there."

Jackson watched as Charles made his way into the building muttering a 'hi' as he passed April who smiled at him in return.

"He's talks very highly of you, you know?", she said as she approached him motioning behind her.

"He has to. I know way too many embarrassing stories about him," he joked as she came to a halt in front of him.

She giggled lightly causing his stomach to flutter before she spoke again, "So... I've been thinking," she started making his heart beating faster hoping that her next words were in his favor.

"About what?"

"About you," she replied automatically smiling softly until she realized what she had just said, "Well about us... about what you said and what Charles said about you," she added hastily with her eyes wide and her cheeks covered in a deep blush which he found quite cute.

"And to which conclusion did you come?", he asked hopeful while he tried to shoot her his most charming smile.

She returned that smile her cheeks almost back to their normal color, "Charles did really make it sound like I would miss out on a lot if I didn't gave you a chance."

"I may be a little bit biased but he's right," he interjected.

She only shot him a smile at that comment as she continued, "So I decided that I should give it a try."

"Really?", this was too good to true he thought to himself.

And it actually was, "Yes, I'd like us to be friends," she added wearing a hopeful smile.

"Oh," Jackson let out trying to hide his disappointment.

"I'd really like to get to know you. So, friends?", she looked at him with so much hope in her hazel sparkling eyes that it was nearly impossible to refuse her.

"Yes, friends."

"Me and you," she added as though she wanted to make sure that he was aware that she meant the two of them.

"Yes, me and you," he repeated before he was engulfed in a surprising but definitely not unwelcomed hug.

And as he stood there, his arms wrapping around April's small form, the smell of strawberries and something that was instinctively April filling his senses he realized that being friends was definitely a step into the right direction.

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><p><strong>There it is! I hope you liked it! Please leave a review!<strong>

**Next time the campus is going to be rocked by a huge scandal and one of April's brothers makes an appearence so stay tuned for that! **

**Also, I feel like I should warn you because not everything will play out the way it seems now. There are some things set-up at the moment that will not happen that way! I hope I didn't scare you too much with that I just thought that you should know! There are defnitely still some twists and turns ahead. You're in for quite the ride!**


	5. Did You Hear About The Shepherds?

I'm so sorry for the delay but my computer's been a pain lately. In this chapter we'll focus on other characters more. A scandal will occur and we'll find out how our two favorite idiots are involved in it. Also, as promised one of April's brothers will make an appearence.

All mistakes and errors are mine, I just really wanted to get this up. The title is a reference to the movie 'Have You Heard About The Morgans?' but I can tell you that the cahpter has nothing to do with it other than that.

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned. All the rights to them and Grey's Anatomy belong to shondaland and ABC. **

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><p>Everyone has those people in their lives that they've known their whole life without ever really knowing them.<p>

In Jackson's case that person was Meredith Grey. Her mother worked with his and Charles' parents at Mass Gen long before they even began thinking about having kids. Meredith was actually two years older although she was in their year now since she backpacked two years through Europe after high school.

Jackson had only distant memories of Meredith from his childhood because she and her mother moved to Seattle when Meredith was four after her parent's divorce. He dated her half-sister Lexie for quite some time during high school which was why he had some sporadic contact with Meredith during that time.

Now Meredith was one of those girls who couldn't set their mind on anything. She had changed her major quite some times during the three years they studied at Harvard now and she seemed far more interested in the parties than her classes.

Jackson wasn't sure whether he would say that they were friends or not. They hung out some times mainly because they've had the same friends, the so-called 'cool ones', the ones that started another party every weekend, the ones that got in trouble quite often but got out of it most of the times because they had influential parents or were important for the sport teams.

Jackson only hung out with them from time to time because a lot of them were his football teammates. Other than that he really didn't share the same interests with them. He liked to focus on his academic performance and he preferred it to have actual conversations with his friends instead of drunken chanting.

In fact he found himself hanging out with Charles' group of friends more often lately. They weren't as geeky as he expected them to be and they were really smart and he liked talking to them about other things than sports and girls. Plus that gave him the opportunity to spend more time with April.

Ever since they became friends he got to know her better just like she learned more about him. She was the complete opposite of him, loud and perky instead of quiet and laid back, socially awkward instead of charming. But despite of all those differences his affection didn't lessen in fact that did the exact opposite for him. With every minute he spent with April Kepner, every new detail he learned, every blush on her cheeks because she was still a bit nervous around him he fell more for her.

But back to Meredith Grey; whenever they met they would act friendly around each other, the usual stuff like 'How are you?' or 'How are your classes going?', never more private. And Jackson never got really rid of the feeling that Meredith still resented him a bit since he had been the one to break things off with her sisters back then.

So yes, he had known Meredith Grey all his life without ever really getting to know her.

That fact didn't keep his mother from calling and pumping him for information when Meredith found herself in the middle of one of the biggest scandals that had rocked the Harvard campus in the last few years.

"No mom, I didn't talk to her yet nor will I in the future," he sighed desperately in his phone. His mother hadn't stopped bugging him about this in the last twenty minutes, "Because we aren't that good friends."  
>He took his books and put them in his bag his phone jammed between his ear and his shoulder, "I'm sure that there are enough people asking her about this already."<p>

He looked up when he heard a knock on his and walked over to answer it only to be faced with his best friend who was holding his phone to his ear as well.

"Your parents too?", Jackson mouthed to him receiving a nod in response before Charles talked into his phone, "No mom, I'm still listening to you," he claimed as he waited for Jackson who went to get his jacket and bag.

The quarterback stopped midway as he heard about his mother's latest act, "Did you seriously call Lexie?!"

Distantly he heard Charles' chuckle while his mother justified her actions on the other end of the line, "Look mom, I've gotta go now. I've got classes. I'll call you later," with that he hung up knowing that his mother would continue to talk his ear of if he gave her the chance to say goodbye.

He slipped his jacket on throwing his bag over his shoulder and turned around just in time to see Charles hanging up as well, "Twenty says that the both of us will receive at least another call before the lecture is over."

"I know better than to bet on this," Jackson replied well knowing that Charles was probably right.

"It's shocking though," his best friend began while Jackson locked his door and they began making their way towards the lecture hall.

"Not you too!", Jackson exclaimed as he heard as soon as the words left his mouth, "I've heard enough gossip already and it's barely past 8am."

"I know," Charles relented but continued much to Jackson's dismay, "But come on. She's sleeping with the prof's husband. I mean how can you not be interested in that?!"

Jackson sighed as he pondered over the thought. Of course he was interested in the whole thing, he just thought that they deserved some privacy, "I'm sure that there's more to the story. And until one of the involved is ready to speak up about it I think we should stop making assumptions and coming up with rumors."

"I don't see that happening anytime soon. It's a little wonder on itself that Professor Montgomery-Shepherd is even giving a lecture today."

Charles had a point there. The big secret was only revealed yesterday and had been shocking for everyone. Jackson wasn't even sure how it got out in the end but he was pretty sure that it had something to do with a prom-like thing held at Mass Gen.

His friend wasn't done yet, "I mean she just got humiliated by one of her students."

Again Charles was saying the truth. The Shepherds had always been a dream couple; they had met at college, got married after two years of dating and had been free of scandals ever since. Derek Shepherd was a renowned neuro surgeon and worked at Mass Gen while his wife taught at Harvard. Everything seemed perfect until Shepherd cheated on the professor with a student.

Jackson could see that Charles wanted to add something but he was interrupted when his phone rang again. The other man simply laughed as he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID, "Wow, not even 10 minutes. I'm impressed."

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><p>After Charles had managed to get rid of his mum they spent to rest of their talking about their nosy parents who were still bothering them even after three years. Back in their teenager years they had to come up with the most elaborate plans to hide their secrets from their parents. Because of the fact that Jackson's mom and Charles' parents were pretty close things had been even harder. At least they had had each other back then.<p>

And even now their parents successfully included themselves into their sons' lives.

Jackson and Charles filled into the lecture hall together with the other students taking their usual spots. He could hear the whispering around them grow louder and automatically looked up to see Professor Montgomery-Shepherd entering.

He watched how she squirmed under her students' blatant stares and then, much to his surprise, how April got up to talk to her. He hadn't even noticed that April was already there which was quite remarkable since he always looked out for her lately. April made her way over to their professor and he smiled to himself as he realized that that was something only April would do; comforting her humiliated professor. He wouldn't be surprised if she got some cookies in her bag as well as a solace because April was like that. She cared for the people around her no matter how good she knows them.

He was surprised though when Addison went in for a hug first and it didn't look like it was the first hug they shared either.

"Hey," he nudged his friend who had been engrossed in his notes until then, "What's going on there?"

Charles looked up from his notebook and followed Jackson's line of view just in time to see the women pull away.

"I get it that April's caring but isn't that a tad too much?", Jackson asked still a bit confused by the display.

"The prof's husband..."

"The one that cheated on her?"

"Yes, that one. He grew up with April's oldest brother. The three of them, The Shepherds and April's brother all studied together and Montgomery-Shepherd has kinda been like a big sister for April since then."

Jackson furrowed his brows in concentration. How come he never heard of that. After all Montgomery-Shepherd had been their professor for almost three years by now and her husband worked together with his mum, "Why didn't I know that?"

Charles simply shrugged in response, "I have no idea. Her brother doesn't work at Mass Gen... maybe that's why. He's got some fancy private practice in Boston and is some big-shot plastic surgeon. And April makes it a big deal that nobody thinks that she's being preferred because she knows the prof privately..."

Jackson nodded, that made sense. He would peg April as the kind of girl who wanted to succeed because of her achievements and not her relationships. He admired that, after all he was like that too.

April left Addison then and went to her place int the front row. Their professor began with her lecture purposefully ignoring all rumors and pitying looks that she received from her students. It was quite odd but Jackson understood her decision.

* * *

><p>"Hey," he walked up to April with Charles in tow after the lecture as they made their way outside.<p>

"Hello Jackson, Charles," she greeted them friendly in return while she fell in step beside them.

"How's it going?", Jackson asked casually because he could do it; being just friends with her... for now.

She eyes the two of them warily for a moment before she huffed, "Please don't ask me."

"Why not?", he questioned confused because even though he knew that April had her mannerisms she had always been friendly.

"Because everyone's been asking me whether I know something about Meredith and Derek or if I know how Addison is!"

"Do you know something?", Charles piped up from beside Jackson earning an eye-roll from the others. "What?", he exclaimed in defense.

Jackson turned around to face April a little bit better shutting his best friend out and ignoring him completely which caused him to huff scandalized. "Look, I won't ask you like some people," he put special emphasis on that last part shooting Charles a dirty look, "But if you need someone to talk to just know that I'm always there for you."

He couldn't remember ever saying something so cliche but the warm smile April gave him in return made it all worth it. Seriously, he had no idea what that woman did to him but he was slowly turning into one of these hopeless romantics from those sappy rom-coms. Like for example right now; he wouldn't exactly say that there were butterflies fluttering in his stomach but for the lack of a better phrasing... yeah, it were butterflies.

"Thanks," she told him as she stopped and for a moment they just looked at each other. He was about to reply something cheesy like "Always" but luckily he was prevented from embarrassing himself when her phone rang. For the first time he was happy that they were interrupted.

April sighed as she looked down on the caller ID and then met his gaze again, "I have to go now..."

"Oh, okay," he hated how disappointed he sounded.

"Yeah, I guess I'll you soon."

"Sure."

She lingered in the moment for a little while longer and if he didn't know it better he would have thought that she seemed just as reluctant to go as he was to see her leaving. But that were probably just his feelings for her that were beginning to make him delusional.

* * *

><p>Jackson really didn't mean to ask Meredith about the rumors; it was pure coincidence that he ran into her as he made his way from practice back to his dorm.<p>

He had been checking his phone for the umpteenth time to see whether April had tried to call or text him yet (she hadn't) when someone bumped into his shoulder.

"Watch where you're going!", a voice that he would identify as Meredith's once he looked up chastised him rather unfriendly.

"Sorry," he mumbled apologetically giving her once-over. The normally very composed girl looked utterly disheveled. Her blonde locks were all over the place and she wore deep bags under her gray-blue eyes that were missing their usual spark. Jackson couldn't even begin to imagine what she had been through in the last 24 hours. "Are you okay?"

"Not you too!", she shrieked loudly and he briefly glanced around seeing that several students were already looking at scene unfolding in front of them but he could sense that Meredith was beyond caring about them, "I know that you're your mother's little spy but you can tell her that you failed because I won't tell you out of all people what really happened! Besides, you've probably already decided what's the truth and that I'm the guilty one already anyway!", she all but screamed at him.

He was taken aback by her sudden outburst and for a minute they just food there; Meredith glaring at him heavily breathing while he tried to think of something to say.

"I was really just genuinely interested in how you are but you're right, you don't have to tell me anything."

"Oh," she let out clearly surprised by his sincerity, "I'm sorry then."  
>"No need to be," he told her friendly and smiling ever so slightly, "I get it. You needed to let all that out. I'm not offended or something."<p>

"Really?", she questioned and it was obvious that she had expected him to react completely different. But he only nodded in response as he placed a comforting hand on her upper arm.

"Well, thank you. You're right I needed that," she said as she shot him one last sincere smile before she walked past him.

Jackson was now more sure than ever that there was more to the story that they all thought.

* * *

><p>The lecture two days later would probably always stay the most dramatic one in history of the campus. At least it was the most dramatic one Jackson had ever witnessed.<p>

It had started normal; Professor Montgomery-Shepherd was giving her lecture as usual. By then most of the rumors had started to die down because none of the involved had spoken about it yet and apparently the student body had lost their interest in it all already.

The lecture had been rather boring actually and Charles beside him was doodling on his notebook instead of listening to what their professor had to say. Jackson had been about ask him how things with Reed were processing when the door at the front of the hall had flung open and a clearly very angry Meredith Grey had stormed in.

Addison stopped in the middle of her sentence as she noticed the other woman in every meaning of the term.

"Can I help you somehow, Miss Grey?", she asked coldly while her students were suddenly very interested in what was happening at the front of the room again.

"Yes, you can!", Meredith screamed startling the students who hadn't noticed her yet while she pointed an accusing finger at the redhead. "I've been okay with you playing the role of the victim until now because honestly, I didn't care but today one of my professors humiliated me in front of the rest of my class by calling me a slut! And I won't jeopardize my education because despite what everyone thinks I care about it. That means that I will not look on helplessly anymore while the whole campus thinks that I ruined you marriage although we both know that it's your fault."

There were audible gasps everywhere in the lecture hall and Professor Montgomery-Shepherd looked very uncomfortable by now.

In that moment the door flung open again and Shepherd followed by who Jackson could only assume was April's brother stepped into the room.

"Meredith, don't do this," he tried to calm her down as he took a few steps towards her.

"No," she refused adamantly shaking her head purposefully, "I've been the bad guy for long enough. Why are you even defending her?!"

Derek sighed and Jackson noticed that he looked just really tired. "Look, I know that you think that this is unfair but what you're about to do won't make anything better."

"Do you have some popcorn by any chance?", Charles asked him in a whisper suddenly effectively startling his best friend who had been completely engrossed in the scene in front of them until then, "This is really thrilling."  
>Jackson could only roll his eyes but Charles was right, the whole thing was very fascinating and he'd really like to know what they were talking about.<p>

"Oh yes it is!", Meredith continued not at all convinced by what Derek just said, "Because everyone pities her while we're getting all the hate. You can't even begin to imagine what it's been like for me these past days. I don't get why you're still stepping up for her after what she did to you?"

The surgeonsseemed to be at a loss of words after that, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water but Jackson thought that he had an idea why he continued to defend Addison because despite all the things that transpired between the two she was still his wife which meant that defending her and protecting her from any further humiliation was like an instinct to him.

"Okay, I think we all need to calm down now," April's brother suddenly spoke up, his dark and deep voice vibrating and Jackson could swear that he heard some of the predominantly female students swoon.

"So you wanna say something now?!", Meredith snapped at him, "Well, if you're so adamant about talking why don't you tell us how you slept with your best friend's wife first!"

Once again you could hear gasps in the hall but apart from that everything was completely silent. Meredith was breathing heavy as she waited for someone to say something, Derek looked rather disappointed and hurt, his best friend looked down on the floor guiltily and Jackson was pretty sure that Addison had started crying. And the students... well, they waited with anticipation for the situation to escalate even more.

"Is it true ?", suddenly all eyes turned to April who had gotten up quietly and was now staring at her brother looking so hurt and vulnerable that it broke Jackson's heart a little bit.

"April..." her brother tried calmly but he was interrupted by her immediately.

"Is it true, Mark?!", she all but screamed and Jackson knew that probably no one had ever seen her like this.

"Yes," he admitted quietly barely looking up from the floor but meeting her gaze anyway. He made a step towards her trying to approach her but she flew from the lecture before he could reach her a hand clasped over her mouth and hurt written across her face.

Without giving it a second thought Jackson got up and followed her through the doors.

Behind him he left four people standing whose lives just been shattered and whose life-changing moments were displayed in front of an eager crowd.

He had known that there was more to the story than the student sleeping with the professor's husband but right now he couldn't care less about that because there was only one thought running through his mind: _AprilAprilApril..._

* * *

><p>Jackson found the redhead in one of the seminar rooms that were close to the big lecture hall. The door was closed and it was by pure coincidence that he looked through the little window and saw her.<p>

He silently opened the door and closed it right behind him before he took a moment to look at the woman in front of him. She was leaning against one of the desks, hunched over and her face buried in her hands, sobs racking her body.

"Hey," he tried quietly trying not to scare her. She didn't even look up as she said, "Whoever this, go away. I don't want to talk right now."

The quarterback sighed but stayed anyway. Apparently not giving up could be applied in different ways. "It's me," he tried again. This time she looked up and Jackson's heart ached for her at the sight. Her face was smeared with tears and make-up and her eyes were already puffy from the crying.

"Jackson?", she asked but it didn't really sound like a question. He nodded in response slowly walking to where she was.

"I know that you said that you don't want to talk about it and I also know that even though we're friends now we haven't known each other for that long... so, I'd totally understand it if you don't trust me yet..."

"I trust you, Jackson," she interrupted him calmly not really meeting his gaze and he could swear that she was blushing ever so slightly. "I just don't know what to say because I don't understand it. I mean I know that my brother is not exactly a saint but how could he do something like that to his best friend?"

The tears were polling in her eyes again and Jackson slowly began to understand why this was hitting her so hard. Although she said that she was aware that Mark wasn't exactly a monogamist he had still been a hero to her in some way. He had always been since their childhood and now that picture was destroyed because Mark betrayed Derek who had been like a brother to her too. Of course that would disturb her.

Finally Jackson followed the instinct he had since he had seen her and closed the distance between them engulfing her in his strong arms. She was stiff against him for a moment probably overwhelmed by the whole situation but eventually she let herself relax and wrapped her arms around his torso.

He could sill hear how she let out a whimper from time to time but she calmed down somehow as they stayed that way.

He had no idea how long they lingered in this moment until the door opened and closed again and someone cleared his throat.

Jackson let go of April rather reluctantly as they turned around to face her brother. "I don't want to see him," the redhead mumbled beside him albeit a little childishly.

"April," Mark pleaded and Jackson nudged her slightly because he was aware that deep down she wanted to talk with her brother.

In the end she agreed to having a conversation with her older brother. Jackson left them although his gut told him to stay with April and protect her but he knew that she would be fine without him.

"Who was that guy?", Mark asked once the young man had closed the door behind himself trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Jackson," April answered briefly. She had no desire to tell him more than necessary because she was still majorly pissed at him.

"Okay," he cleared his throat once again trying to find a way to explain things to her, "Please, let me explain..."

"Why you slept with your best friend's wife?! Oh, I'd love to hear that but I don't believe that there's something like an explanation for that!", she snapped. In all those years he had barely seen his baby sister act like this but he supposed that he kind of deserved it.

He let out a deep sigh leaning against the desk opposite of her, "Pumpkin..."

"Don't call me that!" She had never really liked that nickname which she had been given because of her fierce red hair.

"Derek neglected her. He had been working more overtime and put his patients above his wife," he began and was surprised and pleased when she didn't interrupt him. "At first we had no idea that he knew it because he didn't say anything and then he started seeing Meredith and..." he trailed off giving her a meaningful look that said as much as 'and you know what happened then'.

April sighed as she looked over at her older brother. He had always been her hero growing up. Back when she was in primary school he had already been in high school and when she hit her teenage years she had found a sister to dicuss girl problems with in Addison. Derek and later his girlfriend had been part of her family just as much as her two half-brothers.

"But I still don't understand how you could do something like this to Derek. I mean, he's been a better brother than you to me at times!", she exclaimed.

"Hey," he retorted offended, "I've been a great brother. I still am."

A small smile made its way on her face as she nodded in agreement, "That's true."

"I felt terrible because of Derek; I feel terrible. But Addison deserves better than the way he's been treating her," Mark told her suddenly serious and realization finally dawned on April.

"You really care about her, don't you?"

"I love her," he admitted a small sad gracing his lips.

Mark had always had talent with getting involved with the wrong woman and this time was no difference, "You've made a huge mess."

"I know."

She let out a long breath before she pushed herself up and walked towards her brother, "Come here."

Without hesitation he stood up and wrapped his arms around her burying his nose in her hair and relishing in the love only family could offer.

"I love you," He murmured as he pressed his lips against her temple.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you liked it and that you saw the subtle developement between the two. We're going to see more of that in the next chapter.<strong>

**So, how surprised are you that Mark's her brother?! :D I think the second one will be much easier to guess but I'm not sure yet how or when I'll introduce him.**

**Thanks for reading and if you could leave a review that yould be great!**


	6. Go Crimson!

I am so sorry for the delay. You know, life happened and stuff! Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope you like it. As I promised their relationship will progress further.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned. All the rights to them and Grey's Anatomy belong to shondaland and ABC.**

* * *

><p>Here's a thing about college students; they can barely hold interest in anything longer than a week if there isn't any new information which was why the whole 'Grey-Shepherd' scandal was basically a thing of the past for most of them by now. Sure, there were still some rumors and whispering whenever Meredith or Addison were around but everything pretty much calmed down for now.<p>

Jackson knew from reliable sources, namely April who opened up more to him after they learned the whole truth, that the Shepherds were getting a divorce and Derek and Mark weren't talking to each other anymore. He also knew that Derek and Meredith were trying a serious relationship since there were apparently more feelings involved than anyone expected. Nobody really knew what was going on between Addison and Mark, not even April but it didn't seem as though they were together.

Either way the campus fell back into its daily grind; Reed still avoided Charles, Charles still whined about that, Alex had somehow convinced Izzie to start a relationship and Jackson was falling in love with April more and more every day.

Everything would be pretty perfect if April wasn't so adamant about them being strictly friends and nothing more.

It was not like Jackson didn't try; he flirted with her more and more, but he also respected her wishes and being friends was better than not having her in his life at all.

It scared him somehow, how fast she became so important to him. He never believed in the concept of love at first sight. He always thought that it was just some stupid idea that the movie industry planted in the heads of helplessly romantic teenagers and adults. That was until he met April Kepner at that party.

He wasn't even sure anymore what made him fall for her in the first place. Honestly, she wasn't the kind of girl he typically went for. Getting to know her he learned that she could be incredible loud and perky, so completely opposite of him, and yet it made him only fall harder. Maybe it was because of that, that she was so different from his past flings and girlfriends that made him realize that he wanted something real with her. If they were to be together he wanted it to last which was why he took it so slow now. He didn't want to rush into things and pressure her into a relationship she wasn't really ready for. When they would be together it would be because she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. And for that day he would wait.

To him it wasn't a question of if the day would come but when it would come. He was sure that she felt something for him too, although her feelings weren't as strong as his… yet. She must have felt the chemistry between them right from the first moment on that porch. And the way she blushed whenever he complimented her, which was quite often, reassured him that there was something slowly building up between them, something great.

* * *

><p>He slumped into his seat at the cafeteria table opposite of Charles. He had spent the entire morning at training, and the coach had been pushing them extra hard since the Big Reds from Cornell would be here this evening for the game.<p>

"Exhausted?" Charles mumbled around a spoonful of his spaghetti. Jackson only nodded in response too tired to say anything. He planned on eating a healthy and balanced lunch, as the coach called it, and then taking a nap to be perfectly rested for the match.

"Think you gonna be fit for this evening. I mean it would be a shame If you collapsed in front of April, wouldn't it?" Jackson was suddenly not exhausted at all; instead he leaned forward while Charles could only chuckle at his sudden change of demeanor.

"April is coming to the game?"

"Of course she is. She is practically coming to every game," Charles replied nonchalantly as he kept stuffing food into his mouth.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Jackson was far more agitated by those news than he let on to be honest. April being interested in football made her even more perfect in his eyes.

"I am now," Charles was barely comprehensible with his full mouth and Jackson was slightly disgusted by his friend's manners or better lack thereof, "I just didn't think that April's obsession with football was so important."

Jackson furrowed his brows slightly slouching back in his seat. Sure, Charles was somehow right but it still bothered him somehow that he didn't know about this part of her. After all, he got to know her pretty well in the last month; at least he had thought so.

"How comes that she's into football?" he questioned instead of dwelling on that fact. He hadn't pegged April as the kind of girl that was interested in sports, especially not in football. "I guess two big brothers and growing up surrounded by mainly manly farmhands does that to you," Charles shrugged after swallowing, "Besides I think her dad has been a big deal in football once or so."

Jackson only nodded letting it sink in. He had seen how close April was with Mark and he expected that her relationship to her other brother was fairly close as well. "Are you going with her?"

"Yup," his friend answered plopping the 'p' at the end, "Reed is not really interested in football so we're going together with George."

Jackson suddenly realized that it must be a common occurrence for the three to attend the games together. He had really underestimated how close April and Charles were making it even weirder that they hadn't met until the party,

Thinking about the party sparked another idea in his mind. "Hey, if we win, which we will, some fraternity is throwing a party. You three should come."

Charles pondered his offer for a moment clearly not as excited about the idea as Jackson. "I don't know… maybe. I will talk with the others."

"Great," the quarterback answered enthusiastically realizing that this was the best response Charles could offer at the moment.

* * *

><p>They were getting ready in the tunnels waiting for their cue when Izzie came bouncing in basically jumping at Alex and pressing her lips against his for a firm kiss.<p>

"Good luck, babe," she whispered against his lips as they parted sending him one last wink before storming out of the tunnels and joining the rest of her squad. A few of their teammates chuckled until Alex sent them a dirty look. "You guys are just jealous."

They quickly turned away from Alex minding their own business while Alex let out a low huff, "Idiots."

This time Jackson wouldn't help but chuckle at his friend's behavior. He had truly become a different person since he started seeing the cheerleader regularly.

"What?", came his annoyed question immediately and completely expected.

"Nothing," Jackson assured him still wearing an enormous grin, "I just think that it's cute how much you changed for Izzie."

"Shut up!"

"No, seriously you're a better person. That's something I never expected happening," he continued. Obviously he enjoyed it to mess with his friend a little bit.

"Whatever. You're just jealous because you could have had her and now it's too late," Alex grumbled trying to get him to stop. Jackson sobered up at that. "Trust me, I'm not jealous."

"You sure 'cause I have a hot and awesome girlfriend and you're a sad and lonely single?", Alex pressed on raising his eyebrows unconvinced. Jackson could only shake his head; if Alex only knew.

He leaned slightly forward to catch a glimpse of the stands that were slowly filling with people. He knew that somewhere among them she was standing and he couldn't remember ever feeling so motivated for a game.

"I'm anything but sad and lonely."

* * *

><p>Charles watched how a big smile blossomed on April' face as the teams made their way on the field. He was very well aware of his best friend's feeling for the redhead but he couldn't figure out yet what his friend felt for the football player. Seeing her now and the way her eyes lit up as she caught sight of the quarterback he slowly realized that Jackson's crush might not be as one-sided as he thought.<p>

He was happy for his friend, of course. The guy deserved someone who truly cared about him and his feelings, someone who wasn't after him for his looks, his money or his name. Charles had seen enough girls over the years who had only been interested in Jackson because of that and while Jackson pretended that he didn't care since he used them too, Charles was aware of how much it really hurt his friend.

Still, he couldn't help but feeling a bit bitter. After all, Reed still refused to talk to him. At this point she didn't even acknowledge his presence anymore. April stayed adamant about the fact that Reed was still trying to sort out her feelings and while he tried to believe that he couldn't help but thinking that she just wasn't interested in him and didn't want to hurt his feelings. He made his mid up about asking April again when the players settled on their benches and the game began.

"April?"

"Hm?" Her eyes stayed focused on the field as she waited for him to continue.

"Did Reed by any chance mention me lately?"

"Please say yes!", George suddenly exclaimed from beside April, "He hasn't been able to shut up about her, more than usual. It's seriously annoying."

"Thanks, George," Charles retorted sarcastically giving his roommate a dirty look.

April who stood between the two men sighed heavily. "She did."

"She did?!" , the two others asked surprised in union.

"Okay, this is probably breaking so many rules of the girl code or whatever but I just can't do this anymore," she mumbled more to herself than to anyone else before turning to face Charles.

"Listen, Reed is my best friend and if either of you tell her that I told you this, I will come after you…" Both, George and Charles, gulped at that because in the two years of knowing April they learned that you better not mess with April Kepner. Let's just say that having to stand up to her brothers taught her quite some things, "…but Reed hasn't been able to shut up about you either and it's so annoying."

At this point the others were speechless and the game was long forgotten. Instead they impatiently waited for what April had to say next. "The reason she's avoiding you is because she actually has feelings for you. She just has no idea how deep those feelings run and she is afraid of figuring that out. You know how things ended with her parents and you're one of her best friends. She's afraid that she's going to lose that if something more happens between the two of you."

April sighed after she finished her small rant. Charles on the other hand was completely taken back by those revelations. Sure, he had hoped that Reed reciprocated his feelings but he definitely hadn't believed, not even in his wildest dreams, that she actually did.

"You need to give her more time to come around to it herself," April finally concluded before turning back to the game. Charles nodded dumbly while George was wearing a huge smile right now happy for his roommate.

The med student was snapped out of his thoughts when April suddenly enveloped him in a fierce hug. He then noticed also how the people around them were cheering and his eyes slowing wandered back to the field.

"Did you see that?! Touchdown! Jackson is awesome! That was incredible!"

And as Charles watched his small friend ramble off he couldn't help but think that maybe Reed wasn't the only one who would eventually come around and face her true feelings.

* * *

><p>"Congratulations!" Some guy clapped him on the back as he made his way through the house. They had defeated Cornell triumphantly and he had played one of his best games yet. All thanks to one woman that he was still desperately trying to find.<p>

Charles had texted him early that they had decided to come to the party. He had sounded rather excited and Jackson had no idea why but he could figure that out later. First he needed to find April in the mass of celebrating students.

Suddenly someone stumbled into him causing him to sway slightly trying to regain his balance. He was actually rather annoyed; he had been looking for April about half an hour now and still hadn't seen her, or Charles or George for that matter.

As the couple in front of him regained their balance he realized that it was none other than Alex and Izzie. Both of them had clearly had a drink too much.

"Jackson!", Alex suddenly growled loudly. "We won!" Izzie beside him was giggling furiously as she held onto his frame.

"I'm aware," Jackson stated irritated. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with either drunken Alex or drunken Izzie. He knew from experience that both of them were pretty annoying in this state.

"I'm so proud of my baby. He made such a great game," Izzie slurred before attacking Alex mouth which turned into a full-blown make-out session immediately. Jackson was barely able to slip past them in order to continue his search. Sure, he was very happy for his friend but that didn't mean that he wanted to see stuff like that.

He rounded another corner and finally saw April standing in a corner talking to Brad. His heart made a little jump at the sight of her. Her red hair was slightly curled and she only wore light make-up. She had a crimson scarf thrown around her neck and her tight sweater had the same color fitting for the occasion.

For a few moments he simply stood there watching her. As she talked to Brad she made animated gestures and expressions and he was still sure that the whole room lit up when she smiled.

Slowly, he walked towards where they were standing in the farthest corner of the room. Once he was in earshot he cleared his throat. April's eyes flickered to his immediately and as she recognized him huge smile spread upon her features.

Before he knew what was happening she had wrapped her arms around his shoulders enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. "Congrats," she whispered into his ear just before she pulled away from him still wearing a huge smile.

"I'm gonna go now," Brad suddenly piped up beside them. Jackson had completely forgotten about his teammate by now.

"Okay. See you on Monday," April told him with a small smile which he reciprocated as he disappeared into the sea of students. April looked after him until she lost sight of him while Jackson's eyes stayed fixated on her. She was beautiful.

"So you enjoyed the game?", he asked once she met his gaze again and he detected the slightest blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah, I did. You were great."

"Thanks," he replied with a small smile as he couldn't keep his eyes of her. He was mesmerized by her. They were standing pretty close, so close that he could count the freckles that were spread over her cheeks and nose. "How come I didn't that you like football so much?"

She shrugged as her eyes drifting away for a second as she blushed deeper. "I just didn't think that it is that extraordinary."

"Everything about you is extraordinary," he breathed without hesitation causing her to duck her head slightly in order to hide her blush. In that process one of her curls fell in front of her face. He didn't even think about it as he reached out to tuck it behind her ear. April's head shot up instantaneously looking eyes with him.

She wore a somewhat startled expression and he wondered if this was it, their moment. If he leaned in now, would she pull away or would she kiss him as well? Was she ready for this, for them? Was he?

His hand rested on her cheek, his thumb slowly grazing her cheekbone as he moved closer to her. He decided that he would never know what could happen if he didn't try. And April showed no signs of pulling away; instead she watched his every move carefully holding her breath.

He was just about to close his eyes when someone behind them suddenly called out her name. April hastily took a step away from him and out of his reach, so that his hand fell to his side.

"There you are!" The person turned out to be George who came running towards them. "I need your help. Charles had one or two drinks too much and is now fully convinced to go see Reed."

"Ugh," April groaned, "I knew that it would be a bad idea to tell him. Go ahead, I'm coming."

George nodded before making his way towards the exit while April focused on Jackson again. "I'm so sorry but I've got to go. I'm sure you understand."

Of course he did and he hated it. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," she shook her head vehemently, "This is your night, you should celebrate. I'm sure we're able to handle Charles on our own. Don't worry. Have fun, champion."

She stood on her toes pressing a small kiss to his cheek before following George. Involuntarily his hand went up to where her lips had been mere seconds ago.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," some teammate of him muttered excitedly suddenly and before Jackson could correct him he was gone. Honestly, he didn't want to correct him anyway.

* * *

><p>After April had to leave so abruptly the last night, Jackson made himself the promise to kill his best friend as soon as he saw him. That moment came earlier as anticipated as Charles texted him the next morning asking him to come to the common room very much like last time.<p>

What Jackson didn't expect when he entered said room was the redhead sitting opposite of Charles handing him some water.

He might or might not have checked his phone again to make sure that his friend had ordered him here (he had) before he fully stepped into the room.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked trying to fake concern for his friend although he was incredible mad at him.

"Yeah sure," Charles mumbled as he saw him and motioned him to sit down side him. April shot him a genuine albeit unsure smile as he sat down as told. "April here slept with me," Charles continued causing Jackson's eyes to bulge out after what he just heard.

Charles quickly noticed that and hasted to add, "As in, she stayed in our room since I was apparently so wasted and she didn't believe that George would be able to do first aid if necessary."

Jackson visibly relaxed at that slouching into the cushions as he tried to sneak a glance at April but she averted his gaze twiddling with her thumbs in her lap instead. He just hoped that things between them wouldn't be awkward after last night.

"By the way, opposite of you April was capable of preventing me from making a huge mistake." Jackson rolled his eyes in response while April giggled slightly.

Before either of them could say anything else Reed basically stormed into the room halting in front of them and breathing heavy.

All three of them looked up at her expectantly, especially Charles but she just kept staring at him. It was April who broke the silence as she asked her best friend, "Everything alright?"

"Nope. I'm done with this…" she trailed off unable to find words to describe the situation she and Charles were in, "Date. Next Friday."

Charles was about to jump up in excitement when Reed raised her hand to stop him and signalize that she was going to continue. "But if we're going to do this you guys are coming with us. We're having a double date."

With that she left giving them no chance to object. Jackson tentatively looked over to April only to see her blushing furiously. "Well, that was more than I expected," Charles spoke breaking the tension and a small smile graced April's face as agreed with him.

Suddenly, Jackson wasn't angry at all anymore.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next time: double date! <strong>_

_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You know, I was just writing this when suddenly the whole story developed in my head. I now know how this is going to play out and trust me, it's going to be a lot more angsty than intially planned. **_

_**Until next time!**_

_**(Btw you can totally leave a review if you want. It would make my day.)**_


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